The Candidates
Another e-mail from the McCain camp fresh from my inbox tonight: The McCain campaign has just released an impressive national Catholics for McCain Voter Guide.
Why is this so important, and why is the McCain camp targeting Catholics?
Deal Hudson, who was President Bush’s Catholic “go-to-guy” for a number of years, just wrote about the role that Catholics have played in helping to elect McCain:
All three of McCain’s primary wins — New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida — have been fueled by a high turnout of Catholic voters who have given most of their votes to the Arizona senator. Brownback, as chair of Catholics for McCain, announced on December 27 that he is creating a coalition that is pro-life, fiscally conservative, tough on national security, and compassionate on immigration.
In South Carolina, for example, McCain won the overall Catholic vote 45 percent to Romney’s 24 percent and Huckabee’s 11 percent, and Mass-attending Catholic voters 35 percent to Romney’s 28 percent and Huckabee’s 14 percent. Catholics made up 13 percent (57,579) of the overall tally of 442,918 total votes cast in the strongly Evangelical state. McCain had 19,577 more Catholic votes than Huckabee; his winning margin statewide with all voters was 14,843.
As in South Carolina, the Catholic vote provided the margin of victory in Florida for Senator McCain. Of McCain’s 95,273-vote victory over Romney, nearly 67 percent of that margin (63,549 votes) was Catholic.
While Evangelicals are often written about in swaying elections, its certainly interesting to see the role Catholics are playing in the nomination process. Hudson notes:
Senator Brownback’s decision to endorse McCain may well have turned out to be the pivotal event in the revival of the McCain candidacy and his eventual nomination. Brownback’s role in the McCain campaign may also help create a distinctive Catholic arm of the Religious Right.
Who is leading this effort? You can view the Catholics for McCain National Leadership Team here.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:02 pm
O.K. Billy
You’ve succeeded in making this McLiars official web page. I hope you, the Catholics and McLiar enjoy yourselfs for the next few weeks, until you finally figure it out that McCain can not and will not win the Presidency of the United States
END OF STORY
February 1st, 2008 at 10:04 pm
O.K. Real Truth
Seriously, you need some sleep or a beer or something.
END OF STORY
February 1st, 2008 at 10:10 pm
O.K. Billy
One more thing the Catholics should know about Your good friend McCain:
Among the revelations in this fascinating article: When McCain returned to the United States in 1973 after more than five years as a prisoner of war, he found his wife was a different person. Carol McCain, once a model, had been badly injured in a car wreck in 1969. The accident “left her 4 inches shorter and on crutches, and she gained a good deal of weight.”
Despite her injures, she had refused to allow her POW husband to be notified about her condition, fearing that such news would not be good for him while he was being held prisoner.
But, just a couple years later, McCain, while pondering a future in politics, met Cindy Hensley, an attractive 25-year-old woman from a very wealthy politically-connected Arizona family. While still married to Carol, McCain began an adulterous relationship with Cindy. He married Cindy in May 1980 just a month after dumping his crippled wife and securing a divorce.
McCain followed his young, millionairess wife back to Arizona.
What a HERO
February 1st, 2008 at 10:12 pm
McCain may be the nom, but the DEMS will tear him apart…say hello to President Clinton or Obama. It really won’t matter which one.. I will vote for any DEM.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Congrats, Billy! A bright future awaits you, I am sure. Keep up the good work.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:16 pm
CT
That was a great post on the “Romney’s Obstical” line
February 1st, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Fredo is right, you could be one of McCain’s ad writers they spin lies to make Mac look acceptable.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Billy,
Are you a student or teacher at Stuebenville?
February 1st, 2008 at 10:34 pm
One of the most under-reported stories in this primary has been the strong Baptist support that John McCain has received since his joining the Baptist church. Likewise, Senator Brownback’s support of McCain and conversion to catholocism should help McCain with this demographic which until recently was locked up by Giuliani.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Brownback and McCain-Amnesty forever
February 1st, 2008 at 10:37 pm
McCain is a Baptist? Even in the debates they still say he’s an Episcoplian.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:53 pm
JA Pruce,
“Likewise, Senator Brownback’s support of McCain and conversion to catholocism should help McCain with this demographic which until recently was locked up by Giuliani.”
Guiliani didn’t have any constituency locked up. Much less Catholics. Remember, he only broke single digits once. As an active Catholic who knows a lot of Catholics, I don’t know any who were supporting Guiliani, and I don’t remember reading or seeing anything that suggested Guiliani was doing particularly well among Catholics. The pro-abortion, twice divorced Guiliani is a scandal to the faith.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:11 pm
MWS, I am a student at Franciscan.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:57 pm
McCain’s SO good for Catholics. Especially the ones who want more jobs lost to China and more pointless wars fought in the Middle-East.
February 2nd, 2008 at 1:35 am
[...] http://race42008.com/2008/02/01/john-mccain-courts-catholics/ Billy Valentine 2-1-2008 [...]
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Catholics tend NOT to vote republican. If fact the very article above makes people believe that there is a large catholic population in South Carolina, this is not true, South Carolina has one of the smallest Catholic populations in the the nation. There is only 1 catholic diocese in the whole state. There are exceptions where catholics do vote republican and that is the northeast and the rust belt where democrat ideals have abandoned the catholics. But by in large having a separate coalition for catholics is a waste of money and efforts.
February 2nd, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I think we on race42008 have touched enough on Brownback’s endorsement of McCain and the Catholic vote. While Catholics are part of the story, Billy turns it out to be the reason why McCain is doing so well.
Just move on. McCain is going to win and it was because of Billy Valentine.
February 2nd, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Thank you there is sanity in this world! If you would listen to Billy you would believe all catholics vote republican and Billy’s crap doesn’t stink. The truth is Brownback was a single issue candidate who targeted only catholics, which is maybe 10-15% of all votes. Like we should give special treatment to a group of pro-life people who vote the way they believe. Duh, people always vote their convictions.
February 4th, 2008 at 8:38 am
[...] of Catholic voters who have given most of their votes to the Arizona senator. Billy Valentine discusses. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]
February 7th, 2008 at 1:55 am
[...] out a great article tonight on the impact of Senator Brownback’s endorsement of McCain. As I noted a couple days ago, Brownback has especially been key in courting the Catholic vote. The Hill [...]
September 9th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
[...] how Sam Brownback has been leading the “Catholics for McCain” effort here and here and here and here and here. I wrote so much about it I figured I’d give everyone an update on how that [...]
September 9th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
[...] how Sam Brownback has been leading the “Catholics for McCain” effort here and here and here and here and here. I wrote so much about it I figured I’d give everyone an update on how that [...]